ReMix: New Super Mario Bros. 'Plumber's Bane: I. Don't Look Back!'

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New Super Mario Bros.

Random Hero, aka Ryan Roberts, had a single mix posted in 2006, 2007, and 2008, and now he knocks out 2009 with an orchestral NSMB mix that actually draws from multiple Mario games:

... as broken down by Ryan himself. He writes:

"This song was started in order to test the Organ samples that came with EWQL Colossus, mainly the church organ. It was only meant to be a bit of fun, but it kept evolving into something bigger and better then any old scrap song I have done. The song started out as a remix of the 2 fortress themes from New Super Mario Bros. but soon grew to include bits from many other Mario games.

Part way through this remix, someone suggested I try to remix the Final Bowser Battle music from New SMB.  So part way through one remix, I started another. But I soon came up with a way to join both songs together. When completed, the song, which I call “Plumber’s Bane”, reached 10 minutes and 33 seconds. But in order to submit the song, it was re-split into its original 2 parts.

”Don’t Look Back!” is the first part that song and is submitted here. It focuses on Mario’s fight to reach Bowser and of course, save the Princess."

It's a Mario mega-opus, and while the second part should show up here as well in due time, there's more than enough Mario jam-packed into this first bit to keep you satisfied. There's a LOT of timpani in this mix, too, so your needs are covered there as well. Things intro with sinister timpani rolls and subtle string swells, but eventually the afforementioned organ becomes dominant. I have Colossus, and I have to say I really didn't remember the organ being this huge; I think a good part of it is that Ryan's put it to excellent use in a fitting context. This arrangement feels... large. Not in terms of tons of reverb being applied, or tons of instruments being employed, or having bombastic climaxes, but simply by virtue of the organ having such piercing, soaring presence; it's very dramatic. Not much else to say, really; a very powerful arrangement that I'm glad RH was able & willing to break into halves and submit here. Like Tarantino's work with Kill Bill Vols. I & II, it doesn't feel truncated or incomplete, so I think he's done a great job of splitting things up. Excellent.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Woah, this is big, loud and very macabre. Great concept piece. I could always hear the dark side of Kondo's work, and always thought it has gone underappreciated for a while. This mines that material and concentrates it into an extremely well-produced five and a half minutes. Also, I love pipe organ work, especially when used with darkened material, so this is a high achiever for me.
The first half of the mix, while not the superior half, couldn't have been done any better in my opinion. It's like a gothic retrospective of past castle themes, but in no way a traditional medly. We get portions of familiarity shrouded in dissonance and organ hits. Quite an admirable decision and one I appreciate a lot. It makes the thrust into the 'New' Mario territory make a lot of sense and by that stage, the listener knows exactly what the mix is about, and hopefully what to expect from future installments.
This shows all the signs of a very promising series of mixes in the vein of the Cantata for Dancing movements. Let's hope it can live up to the potential suggested in this one. No pressure, or anything...

- Marmiduke on November 21, 2009
Just finished (for the second time) Part II of Pumber's Bane. The orginial ending was to much of a copy from a non-game source. I get the feeling that there may be a Part III in the near future. The new ending of part II is based on the Castle theme from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and i want to develop it into a full song.. we'll see.. Plumber's Bane may become a series of songs for me.

- Random Hero on November 17, 2009
Late to the party, but I wanted to put down my two cents.
I gotta say, the only part of this song I didn't like was the very first organ hit. For some reason, that first hit is really piercing, and not in the good way. But after that one initial organ hit, every other use of it is excellent, sinister, and awesome.
I'm not going to mince words. I love this piece. Dark, brooding, amazing use of source tune, and masterful use of timpanis to back the organ and other instruments. It's purely evil sounding, and when you get to the Castle theme from NSMB, it just all comes together in a positively sinister package. Very cool. A must-listen, and a must-download. Bowser would be proud.

- Triad Orion on August 11, 2009
Nice work getting that epic feel !! I wish I could pull that off, especially with an orchestra/organ thing going on

Not to sound cliche but good job :))

- Mtlbro on August 10, 2009
Good arrangement, great transitions, and very good samples. The crescendo from ~2:00 onwards is absolutely brilliant.
Nice work.

- Martin Penwald on August 4, 2009
The intro certainly took it's time to get going, but it ramped up the mood beautifully. Great restraint and taste, and using subtle cues as well as some massive drums really worked well. This is super dramatic without being overblown.
When things get going, it's even more awesome. The transition writing was excellent, and the underlying rhythmic pulse was very well done.
Double thumbs up, this track is huge.

- OA on July 29, 2009
Really swell work here. I must admit I'm more a fan of the second half than the first, but that is simply a matter of preference. I think the first half is well done from a musical standpoint, it's just not my thing.
Anyway, great mix! I'll be looking forward to part 2!

- jintoreedwine on July 20, 2009
Wow. I rarely post on OCRemix, but this is so epic, I just had to. Well done RH!

- LightSamus on July 20, 2009
Wow, those samples sound great! Those strings at 0:48, so deep and sinister! Do I smell the potential for a ReMix of SNES Zelda's Dark World dungeon music?
My only complaint is that at 3:50 or so, I was expecting it to get really crazy with a Castlevania-style harpsichord, and was disappointed that it did not. But who cares? This is the kind of thing I keep coming back to OCR hoping to find :)

- Nobbynob Littlun on July 20, 2009
Hey guys.. Thanx for the comments, glad u like!! First Direct Post BTW!!
I don't know if anyone noticed, but the intro to this song is paying tribute to David Arnold's Independence Day soundtrack; A movie I have seen dozens of times and still love. Actually, I had never seen the movie in theater thou, that is, until last night!!! :) They actually showed it last night and I HAD to go see it!! If u haven't seen it, U SUCK! hahaha JK.
Now:
Plumber's Bane Part 2:
Well, I think this part has been put on hold. I did submit it, but there was an issue with the ending. I meant to fix it but never did. SO it will be submitted again soon!

- Random Hero on July 18, 2009
Hi, I'm Brad Harms, a.k.a The Music Guy. To be honest, this mix was the reason I finally got around to joining the OCR forums!
To start, let me just say that this has got to be one of the best OC remixes I've heard in quite a while. It's really quite epic, and I can't wait for the second part!
This is going to sound strange, but I don't think that watching this marvelous "piece" being performed by a live orchestra/choir would do it justice. Not that it wouldn't sound superb--it's just that this particular mix seems to demand, with divine authority, something much more. For example, I would love to see a trailer of a next-gen Luigi's Mansion sequel synchronized to to it. That would probably knock me out cold. ^_^
All in all, grandiose. Very grandiose, indeed. Bravo, Mr. Random Hero! *much applause*

- The Music Guy on July 18, 2009
This song made my jaw drop. Right around 2:08 made me tremble in fear. It's when I hear songs like this that make me really think about what my surroundings would be like.
Songs don't normally hit me like this. There are a few OC ReMixes that do, though. This one I must say has hit me the hardest in terms of vivid imagery that came along with the song.
That's why I am proposing the following:
I think that the song should play throughout a flash animation (not some crappy amateur animation either) of Mario progressing through a series of dark, gritty areas, finally arriving at the last castle and its conquer. I am not a flash animator, but I am a damn good visualizer, so I can provide a detailed storyboard for the entire track for anyone who is interested in animating it.
No words, no SFX, but an animation that is perfectly choreographed with the beats and tunes of the song.
You guys might remember the I, Mario thing we had a while back on this board. I think this would be a great tribute to it, even though it only got so far. I even have a fanfiction I am writing that is a spinoff of the "I, Mario" idea of a gritty, real-world take on the Mario universe. This idea really intrigues me.
To Random Hero: Let me know if you're interested in allowing this or even if you're willing to help out with this proposal. Anyone else; I'd love to make this a reality, with Random Hero's blessing of course, so let me know if any of you are interested.

- KP9000 on July 18, 2009
I would think if the sound track was saved at 2:57, that's where the great emotions of tasteful music comes in. B+ in listining.

- ChaosPlayer on July 18, 2009
Oh no way! I remember this from AGES ago in WIP! I loved it then and I love it now. I'm glad to see it finally posted! I think I already pretty well showered this with praise, so instead I'll just say that I love what you've done with some very under-appreciated themes. Congrats!
I think this (both parts together) is one of the best orchestral mixes on the site by far. The transitions between themes are very well-done, and the timpani just rocks.

- Antipode on July 17, 2009
You absolutely did justice to the mostly-underused sources used here. The drums are intense and captivating. The whole mix really clicked for me when the Castle theme from NSMB kicked in; that's a source I completely overlooked when playing through the game, but it works great for this genre. At times, the organ/strings can be overpoweringly loud, but that might just be my cheap $20 headphones at work!
I would have liked to hear the synth elements that you briefly introduced towards the beginning of the song employed more, but I could see how that might clash with the overall style you're going for. When you did use them, it sounded pretty neat though!
Great job, though. Part 2 needs to get up on the front page ASAP!

- Emunator on July 17, 2009

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